Rutgers has similarities to 2006, but has a long way to go

When Darnell Stapleton walks through the door, he brings a plethora of stories with him.

He made it onto the Pittsburgh Steelers and left with a ring for winning Super Bowl XLIII in 2009.

He played center for the 2006 Rutgers football team that went 11-2 and won its first nine games, playing for head coach Kyle Flood, who coached the offensive line at the time.

Now a graduate assistant with the Scarlet Knights, he is one of the only players still involved with the program that was part of that team.

“2006” has buzzed around Rutgers this year as the Knights have their first 4-0 start since that year, but Stapleton wants to put that behind him when he coaches.

“There’s a lot of similarities from ’06 to now, but they’re their own team,” Stapleton said. “I try not to harp on 2006. That’s in the past. These kids have their own identity. They’re going to go out there and play their game and they’re going to leave their mark on this program.”

In this one-year gap while West Virginia and Boise State are both out of the Big East, this might be Rutgers’ best chance to win the conference, which it fell just short of in 2006.

But the comparisons are a bit premature, especially on offense.

Rutgers beat Howard, 56-0, in 2006, but only beat the Bison, 26-0, this year. The Knights’ scored a season-high 35 points Saturday against Arkansas, but that was against a Razorbacks defense that has allowed no less than 24 points this season, and that was to Jacksonville State.

It would also be easy to say that quarterback Gary Nova and running back Jawan Jamison are a sophomore tandem similar to quarterback Mike Teel and running back Ray Rice.

That could be the case, but it is early.

Teel did not break out until his junior year in 2007, ending 2006 with 12 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Nova has gotten off to a better start in his sophomore campaign with nine touchdowns — including a breakout five-touchdown game against Arkansas — and two picks.

Jamison is already a Big East Offensive Player of the Year candidate, an award Rice lost to West Virginia quarterback Pat White. Jamison leads the conference with 586 yards from scrimmage, 133 more yards than anyone else.

“I wouldn’t put (Jamison) in the same category as Ray Rice, but he’s a hard runner,” Stapleton said. “There’s a lot of similarities.”

The Rutgers defense is playing on the 2006 team’s level though, allowing only 12.8 points per game. The 2006 team let up 14.3 points per game.

Louisville, which leads the Big East with 33.5 points per game, comes to town Nov. 29 in a game that could decide a lot about the Big East’s BCS berth.

Stapleton is not the only one who remembers when Rutgers faced then No. 3 Louisville in 2006. It has become a trademark of the program.

The score was 25-25 when Rutgers had the ball with 21 seconds remaining. Louisville jumped offside to put kicker Jeremy Ito in closer range for a game-winning field goal.

Ito sealed the 28-25 victory, and the Rutgers Stadium crowd covered the field seconds later.

It is easy for Knights fans to jump to the conclusion that this will be Rutgers’ year in the BCS and Louisville will be their only test.

Fans can think that way, but Stapleton knew Rutgers did not just cruise to that 9-0 start in 2006.

He stays humble when he accomplishes something, even as great as a Super Bowl title.

“I try to bring (the ring) out as little as possible,” Stapleton said.